Spotlight on MN Storm's Zac Nielsen

Howdy All, I recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Zac Nielsen at the 2013 U.S. Open Championships in Las Vegas where Zac competed for the MN Storm in Greco 84kg. Zac ended up with a Silver medal with two pins (0:36 and 0:44) and a Tech Fall (7-0, 7-0) before dropping a decision to MN Storm's Jordan Holm (3-0, 1-0) in the finals.

I have known Zac for a while now as he is from my neck of the woods and have crossed paths many times.

Zac and Brandon Paulson

Zac is a senior at Northern Michigan University (NMU) majoring in German studies, minoring in International Studies, and on track to graduate this December.

In addition, Zac is a resident athlete in the United States Olympic Education center Greco-Roman wrestling program at NMU.

During our chat Zac mentioned he will be heading to Vienna, Austria for further studies to complete his degree. Tough duty and he will be crossing the pond again on return mid-June. As such Zac will not be competing at the World Team Trials this year to give priority to earning his degree.

p.s. Yes I am smiling much :)

Vienna, Austria - May 2013

Some more background...Zac was originally planning to attend Luther College in Iowa after High School, but Jim Grunwald, then a coach at NMU, felt NMU was a better fit and opportunity for Zac...except a good placing at Fargo Nationals was missing from Zac's resume. Zac then made a commitment to GR/FS training and competed at the 2007 Fargo Nationals - placing 2nd in Jr Greco and 3rd in Jr FS at 189lb and the deal was sealed for education and Greco training at NMU.

Fall at 2013 U.S. Open

3 Questions & Responses

What are your thoughts on the recent IOC recommendation to remove Olympic Wrestling in 2020?
It is devastating to say the least, for me, this is what I do, I am a wrestler so it is a little bit like training for state and then all of a sudden the MNSHL decided to cut wrestling from state and we would all be just stunned and baffled as to why. They could say  something like "no one is buying your tickets and thats why we're cutting you" and I would say in return, "I did not train for ticket sales, I trained for a state championship". And then to go on and say that if is a ratings issue or a ticket sales issue, to me, they want to get rid of it for a financial or political reason and that is exactly what the Olympics in my eyes is not about, putting all that stuff aside and having trained athletes compete in the arena of competition as a gesture of goodwill. It should be about the tradition and the competition and nothing else. Representing your country and yourself and recognizing the hard work that was done is what the Olympics mean to me.

What are you looking forward to most via the trip to Europe?

As far the trip goes, that is pretty much all in effort in order to finish my degree quicker and get on with my wrestling as soon as I can. Having said that, I am looking forward to just about everything I guess. This will be the longest trip I have ever had abroad I really get the chance to soak it in. This will really give me a chance to further observe a different culture, get better at the language, and meet some new friends.

What are your goal(s) for the year 2013?

The top goal of 2013 (because I am missing this years world team trials) will be to graduate from NMU. Wrestling is how I got to NMU and I don't want it to be the reason that I would leave. I am so close at this point it would be very silly to drop out now just because I want to hit the gas in wrestling.

Thanks much to Zac for his time!

More on Zac -

Northern Michigan University/USOEC (Marquette, MI):

2012-2013

• Second - US Open  (Las Vegas)

2011-2012

• Second - Haarvisto Cup (Imajoki, Finland)
• Second - U.S. Senior Open (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

2010-2011

• Fourth - 2011 Senior Open (Cleveland, Ohio)
• First - 2011 University Nationals (Akron, Ohio)

Before NMU/USOEC: Lettered in wrestling, football, and track (hurdles and first to go to State), played trumpet in the band at Zimmerman HS graduating in 2007. Drummer in the band Dueces Wild!

Wrestling

2005 171lb (A) MSHSL State Champion

2006 189lb (AA) MSHSL 3rd Place 

2007 189lb (AA) MSHSL State Champion

2007 189lb - Fargo Nationals 2nd Place Greco, 3rd Place Freestyle

#66 on theGuillotine MN HS wrestling career list with a 201-56 record

Football Records @ Zimmerman HS

Single Season, Yards………...  1406 (2006)
Career Total, Yards………….    2522 (’03-’06)
Most TD's, Game...................  6 (2006) vs. East Central
Most TD’s, Single Season…..   26 (2006)
Most TD’s, Career………….      36 (’03-’06)
Most Points, Career…………    198 (’03-’06)
MVP 2005 & 2006
2005 & 2006 - Rum River All-Conference

Personal: Zachary P. Nielsen ... born Nov. 22, 1988 in Zimmerman, MN. ... son of Pete and Jill Nielsen ... two brothers, Jeff (currently attending and wrestling for Augustana, Sioux Falls SD) and Carter (currently attending and wrestling for Foley HS) ... enjoys fishing, disc golf, and collecting coins.